Repitching yeast

[one_eye]

I did pretty much the same a Techie on Fri. We bottled a PA 2 weeks ago, so we swirled up the cake and put it in a nalgene bottle, and pitched it into a Stout. Since it was a 10 gal batch we split it up though the repitch went into 1 carboy, and a 1 gal starter into the other, both WLP001.

[Speyedr]

I did pretty much the same a Techie on Fri. We bottled a PA 2 weeks ago, so we swirled up the cake and put it in a nalgene bottle, and pitched it into a Stout. Since it was a 10 gal batch we split it up though the repitch went into 1 carboy, and a 1 gal starter into the other, both WLP001.

So you repitched from a previous fermentation into 1 carboy and pitched a brand new starter into the other? Let us know how that turns out and what (if any) differences you notice. I'd be interested to see what happens.

[FizzyLiftingDrinx]

I made several mistakes during this whole process, but that's how you learn, right? First off, I purchased dark colored Nalgene bottles, so I really can't see any layers. I ended up pitching the entire thing into my wort. I'll judge for myself what kind of off-flavors are present if any. Next time, I plan a different strategy. I was reading in John Palmer's new "How to Brew" about this topic and he writes about the main issue being the removal of the trub from your yeast. One way to get around it is to collect from the secondary instead of the primary. So I want to try this next time. I want to rack the beer off the trub when the activity is lowest, but the live yeast is still in suspension (I hope there are no detrimental effects to doing this) and transfer to secondary. When the yeast drops out it should be cleaner. It's still advisable to suspend the live yeast from the dead yeast and residual trub with sterile water and you might be selecting less floculant yeast by collecting from the secondary, but it seems the way to go to me as long as you're only repitching a handful of times.

[Speyedr]

One way to get around it is to collect from the secondary instead of the primary. So I want to try this next time. I want to rack the beer off the trub when the activity is lowest, but the live yeast is still in suspension (I hope there are no detrimental effects to doing this) and transfer to secondary. When the yeast drops out it should be cleaner. It's still advisable to suspend the live yeast from the dead yeast and residual trub with sterile water and you might be selecting less floculant yeast by collecting from the secondary, but it seems the way to go to me as long as you're only repitching a handful of times.

Just be careful since the yeast in secondary is less flocculant. If you wait until the primary activity slows, most of the really flocculant stuff will already have settled out.
Easiest way to do this is to Whirlpool really well in the boil kettle and avoid a lot of trub in the first place. That way you can still pitch on the cake. The best way is probably by washing the yeast. Palmer has really good info on this was well. Just follow the instructions for harvesting yeast from a bottle, but on a larger scale. Collect the yeast in a jar and then pour in distilled water. Mix it up and then let it sit for about 10 min. and pour the milky liquid into another jar. Repeat. You'll get most of the trub out after 2 or 3 tries. Then you can leave the yeast with the layer of water in fridge for at leasta couple weeks.

Just my 2...